Circle of Crime
by redhatladyfan
Summary: It's been over 30 years since Carmen was last seen. A recent crime was committed and the clue echoes her style. Has she returned or is there a copycat?
1. Chapter 1 Old Hat

Usual Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Carmen Sandiego, Zack, Ivy, the Chief or any henchmen related to the cartoon. They are owned by whoever owns The Cookie Jar Company, WOEICS and the Learning Company, Carmen Sandiego franchise.

It's been over 30 years since Carmen was last seen. She disappeared a few days after she rescued her pseudo-father, Malcolm Avalon. Some have speculated that the experience was too much mental anguish so she quit and conformed into society. Others have said that it brought on ill health and she died. Her file, eventually, was closed due to non-activity, because it couldn't be proven that Carmen had perished; therefore, the detectives never inherited VILE.

The odd thing was that VILE was never disbanded. Crimes were still committed under the name by the usual suspects and new faces, but Carmen was no longer apart of them. When Sara Bellum crowned herself Queen of VILE her reign didn't last long, and she was brought down by people in her own organization. No one knew who ran VILE; it seemed to run by itself.

When it was apparent that Carmen wasn't coming back Ivy decided to further her education. She attended a local university and graduated with a PhD in Criminal Justice. Then got married and had three children. Zack took a few years leave to study at an Ivy League University. His college was impressed by the Zack Attack 20,000 and worked with him to patent the design for military use. He graduated with PhDs in Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics. After a few years he got married and had two children.

They're now high-ranking ACME Executives. Ivy's is the CEOT, Chief Executive Officer of Training and oversees all training from field, underwater to space. Zack is the CSC, Chief Specialist of C.H.I.E.F and is responsible for and improvements to the C.H.I.E.F program. Zack improved on the robot body making it more human-like, but Chief still prefers his pink screen.

Ivy's third child is a detective, and his partner is Zack's youngest. Their other children didn't think much about following in their parents' footsteps. From hearing the stories about Carmen, being a detective didn't seem that exciting, as there was no criminal that compared to her. The henchmen were mediocre at best, but still left clues. The clues were fairly easy and the crook was usually caught before they got to the last location.

~ACME HQ, Main Computer Room~

"I am so bored" said Mike who was reading a comic book.

"Same here Cuz" Lily said turning a page. She was reading a book about orchids.

Chief appeared on screen, sirens blaring; both detectives just looked up at him.

A stiff legged Mike got up, "Finally something worthwhile."

"Howdy-do you two. Have I got a hot tip for ya" the Chief said, as red lights flashed behind him.

"What is it Chief?" asked Lily, bookmarking her page.

"A VILE henchman has stolen; get this, the Mona Lisa."

"The Mona Lisa? Isn't that a little old hat for VILE?" Michael commented.

"That may be, but we still need to get it back."

"She's gotcha there Mikey" the Chief said.

They entered a faster and more accurate C-5 portal in that they didn't have to travel through a tunnel, past a bunch of scenes and pictures; instead they stepped in and stepped out at the location.

The Louvre was alive with police.

"Oh detectives, I'm so glad you're here" a flustered curator said

"I still can't believe what happened. It's been a long time, since anyone has attempted to steal the Mona Lisa and here we are and there it's not." She said and pointed towards the blank wall.

Mike and Lily carefully walked over to the wall trying not to step on any potential evidence. A black piece of paper that was stuck behind a neighboring painting caught Lily's eye.

"What's this?" she thought and pulled it out. "Hey Mike look at this."

She handed him the black envelope that had a Carmen Sandiego trademark on it.

"What? Carmen Sandiego? But that's impossible…" he said and looked at Lily.

He opened it up and read the letter

_**Detectives, **_

_**It appears you like to broaden your minds. Let's Gogh to a museum square where one building has the man in a grey felt hat, and it's not where you think.**_

_**Cordially,**_

_**DOCS**_

"Whoa, this is way complex than what we're used to seeing" said Lily.

"Maybe the henchmen have started to read?" laughed Mike. "Let's head back to HQ and figure this out."


	2. Chapter 2 Copycat

~ACME HQ~

"This case is really weird" said Mike, who was examining the clue. "I mean what's with this Carmen Sandiego black envelope we got for a clue and the oddest part is that we have no leads on who we're after."

"I know. All the other VILE henchmen have left some sort of identification clue. Whoever this person is, he or she is really good." Lily said and pulled out a chair to sit down. "Do you think it's Carmen Sandiego?"

"I don't think so. She disappeared, according to Mom, over 30 years ago."

"I know, but it's never been proven that she died."

"But why, let's say, come out of retirement now? She's got to be over 55 and why would she want to do the things she did all those years ago? I don't mean to be rude, but can she still even do those things?"

Lily leaned back in her chair drumming her fingers on the table. The other hand brushed back her long strawberry blonde bangs out of her face.

"Do you think we should tell our parents about this? For the sake of argument she is back no one knows her better than they do."

Mike thought for a minute, "Ok" he sighed. "I just don't want them to think that we can't handle this case."

Lily asked the computer to locate their parents. Zack was in the cafeteria getting something to eat, while Ivy was in her office looking over martial manuals to find the best combination using multiple discipline techniques.

"Hey kiddo, need some help?" Zack said and rustled the top of Mike's red head. Zack became a broad shouldered man. He stood about 6'1 with a blonde mustache. He didn't look like a father, as he still had a youthful look.

A few minutes later Ivy walked in. She did away with her pixie hair cut for a shoulder length bob. One that was easy for her to maintain, especially when she traveled from branch to branch demonstrating proper fighting techniques. Her position required her to dress more business casual than Zack's.

"What seems to be so important?" she asked and put her arm around Lily's shoulders.

"Take a look at this Dad." Lily handed her father the envelope.

Zack turned it over and saw the logo. He gasped.

"Ok, tell me I don't need thicker glasses." He handed the envelope to Ivy.

"No, you don't little bro. It's Carmen's trademark logo alright."

She took out the letter and read it out lout.

_**Detectives, **_

_**It appears you like to broaden your minds. Let's Gogh to a museum square where one building has the man in a grey felt hat, and it's not where you think.**_

_**Cordially,**_

_**DOCS**_

"Yup, this definitely sounds like a Carmen clue." She handed it back to Zack, who reread it.

"Does this mean she's back?" Zack asked folding up the letter and putting it back inside the envelope.

Mike and Lily looked at each other in awe. They were witnessing what their parents looked like all those years ago when they worked on the famous Carmen Sandiego case.

"Let's ask the Chief if he's heard of any activity. Chief?" called Ivy.

The Chief pops onto the main screen.

"Whoa talk about flashback. You two have your Carmen case faces on."

"That's why we called you." Ivy shows the Chief the clue. "Have you heard of any Carmen activity?"

"Wha…You mean she's back!" His eyes bugged out of his head. "I have a bone to pick with her, like how come she hasn't stayed in touch all these years. Where has she been? I've cried my eyes out when I thought she died but this time no note, no signal flags, no Morse code messages. How can I feel closure if she just ups and leaves like that?"

"Uh, Chief?"

"It's not like I've been waiting by the phone or anything." He blushes out of embarrassment. "I have a life too you know…well kinda" he said quickly.

"CHIEF!" Ivy and Zack shouted.

"What?"

"So have you heard of any activity?" asked Ivy.

"Um.." Files scroll down the screen at a fast pace. "Nope, nothing, nada."

"Could it be possible that we have a copycat?" inquired Zack.

"That could be. Whoever this person is they sure have her heist style down. I bet there were no physical identification clues?" Ivy looked at Mike and Lily, who nodded their heads.

"Can Lily and I still work on the case by ourselves?" asked Mike in a meek tone.

Zack and Ivy exchanged glances, Ivy was about to say something when the Chief interrupted.

"I think it would be best if your parents accompanied you on this one."

"Chief we're not detectives anymore" said Zack, conjuring his boyhood whine.

"I realize that Zacky, but no one knows Carmen better than you two. If this person is copycatting we can't have him or her out there attempting the same stunts Carmen did. Sure Carmen was quick enough to save you, but this person may not be. And we know that Carmen didn't believe in violence, but frankly this person may have a different view."

"He has a point" said a now concerned Ivy.

"Chief access the file on The Stolen Smile case. That was the last time the Mona Lisa has had any crime activity and display all three items with locations" said Zack.

All three locations appeared on the screen in order of theft.

_Van Gogh self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Holland_

_Jaume Sabartes by Pablo Picasso from the Museau Picasso in Barcelona, Spain. _

_Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci from the Musee du Louvre in Paris, France. _

"We know that the Mona Lisa has already been stolen. And judging from the clue the copycat plans to steal a Van Gogh painting. So looking at the list, the next stop is the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Player C-5 us to.." an over anxious Zack said.

"Wait" Everyone turned around to look at Ivy. "The clue says It's not where you think. Before we get into a huge frenzy let's figure if that's even the right location."

Zack calmed down, "You're right Sis. I'm sorry I just got too excited about working on a Carmen case again. You know, like old times."

"Yeah, me too Mom. I mean hearing about you and Uncle Z talking about your detective days and, well, I got carried away" said a shameful Mike.

"Same here Auntie." Lily went over to hug Ivy. She's always been a really affectionate girl.

"Oh you three." Ivy smiled at them and patted Lily on the back. "Now we know it's a Van Gogh painting, but what's this stuff about a man in a grey felt hat? Could that be another self-portrait?"

"Chief how many self-portraits did Van Gogh paint?" asked Lily.

"He did over 30 self-portraits. Does that make him conceded?" A mirror appeared next to the Chief who began to admire himself.

"Is there one with him wearing a grey felt hat?" said Mike starting to feel like his mother did all those years ago. The thought of catching Carmen made his adrenaline levels increase.

"Yes, it's on display at the Rijksmuseum in Holland. In fact it's located on a Museum Square or what the locales call it Museumplein. There are five other buildings that make up this majestic tribute to culture the Concertgebouw, Stedelijk Museum, Van Gogh Museum, Diamond Museum and Consulate of United States."

"Van Gogh Museum? Ivy, it's a good thing you stopped us because that's not the place. It's the Van Gogh painting in the Rijksmuseum. Player C-5 us to the Rijksmuseum in Holland."


	3. Chapter 3 Doppelganger

~ Rijksmuseum~

The C-5 appeared and out stepped the four detectives.

Ivy was laughing; "I'm really nostalgic now" then looked at a grinning Zack who nodded.

The museum was quiet.

"What? This can't be" said Zack. "Where's the commotion, the police, the freaked out curator?" He walked out of the room and looked down the halls.

"Did we get it wrong?" asked Ivy, she looked at Mike who shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't think so" said Lily. She pointed towards a bare spot on the wall. A black envelope was taped to it.

"Looks like we just missed her..or him" said Zack. He walked past the small group and carefully took the envelope. A thin data board, the equivalent to a flat flashdrive lay inside. He handed it to Ivy.

"I better go alert security."

"I want to go too" said Mike. He really admired his Uncle Z.

"We'll meet you at HQ" Zack called back.

~HQ~

Ivy placed the data board into the mainframe slot. A video appeared on screen the quality was that of a homemade movie. It was of, what appeared to be, Carmen taking the Van Gogh painting. She used some sort of gadget to carefully disarm the alarms, and then gently lifted it off the back supports. The video went blank then words appeared, they read.

**You can't stand **_**On a Terrace**_** to be **_**impressed**_**. **

Zack and Mike came back.

"What's that about?" Zack asked.

"You just missed the show Dad" said Lily.

"Play it back." Ivy commanded. The video restarted.

After watching the clue disappear Zack said, "If that's Carmen she hasn't aged a bit in 30 years, either that or the copy cat could pass for her doppelganger."

"Think it's possible to have a Carmen lookalike?" Ivy pulled out a chair to sit down. She adjusted her blazer jacket it wouldn't wrinkle in the back. "For all we know she could have children."

Zack was dazed after he heard that. He pulled out a chair, sat down and then put his chin on top his hands.

"You're right. It's been a long time, and it wasn't like she was too old. I mean she must've been around her early 30's when we were chasing her" he said.

Everyone pondered the thought when the Chief came on the screen.

"Hi yall" He frowned, "such serious faces."

"Chief?" Ivy turned herself around to face him. "We were just thinking. Do you think it's possible that Carmen could've had children and one of them is trying to take her place?"

"Hmmmm, well it's hard to say. I've never pictured Carmen being the motherly-type."

"That may be, but do you think it's possible? I mean you know her better than anyone."

"Well, given the fact that I thought I knew her. After she became a criminal I began to question a lot of things about her, like who taught her to be that way I know I didn't. Was she planning on becoming a criminal during her years here at ACME?"

"Chief?"

"Did she plan heists for fun on her days off? Was she in contact with the underground world that helped her to forge shady relationships?"

"Chief!" Ivy said exasperated, her eyes closed.

"Yes it is possible."

"So far she's taken stuff from or related to The Stolen Smile case" said Mike. "Maybe we should start there."

The case information appeared on the screen.

"Well the last painting is Jaume Sabartes by Pablo Picasso. That doesn't sound anything like the clue" Lily said. "Look at the word play on the clue." The video appeared, fast-forwarded and paused on the words. "_On the Terrace_ sounds like a name of a painting to me."

"Ok, but how come _impressed _is italicized. That's got to mean something too? Player cross-reference _On the Terrace _and _impressed?_" Mike commanded.

A search picture for On the Terrace appeared, but no matches for both words.

Zack and Ivy watched their children interacting with each other, reminding them of what they must've looked like all those years ago.

"Player maximize the picture and bring up any background history." Mike said.

The Chief spoke, "On the Terrace is a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. He was a French painter that helped to develop the Impressionist style. Impressionism means using thin brush strokes that are still visible to the naked eye, and accurately depicting the subject using various lighting techniques. It's currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago."

Lily and Mike studied the picture.

"I think that's what Car..I mean she is after" said Lily, who looked back her Aunt and Father for assurance. They both smiled and nodded.


	4. Chapter 4 A New Carmen

~Art Institute of Chicago~

Overhead security lights dimly lit the gallery walls. The detectives appeared in the room to find the On the Terrace painting still hanging on the wall. The oil canvas depicted a woman who was of a maternal nature and a little rosy-cheeked girl, perhaps Mother and Daughter. Both were wore hats with spring flowers embedded in them, looking very content.

"Are we too early?" Zack asked, looking around.

"You're just in time detectives." A familiar voice answered.

The woman stepped out of the shadows into the dim light. Her semi-ebony curly hair was cut shoulder length. She was wore a light blue cashmere sweater and slacks. Her glasses lenses reflected the dim light, as if she had headlights for eyes.

"Carmen?" Ivy asked.

The woman stepped forward, and stood in a signature pose.

"Nice to see you again det..I mean Ivy and Zack. You've both grown into quite extraordinary adults from what I've heard." Carmen smiled.

Zack and Ivy were dumbfounded, their mouths hung open. Mike and Lily only stared at the former elusive thief, whom they've heard so much about. They could see why their parents admired her, why anyone would. The way she stood was statuesque. She gave off a vibe of elegance, vast knowledge and kindness; just being in her presence felt majestic.

"I've heard a lot about you Ivy and the new training program you've implemented. Using the most effective movements from a variety of combat arts and merging them into one unique style, very impressive. And Zack you're quite the man now, I see." He blushed and stood a little bit taller. Carmen laughed.

"When I heard about the improvements you've made with the C.H.I.E.F. program and the C-5 corridor, at first I didn't believe it. A 100% accuracy location rate is very hard to achieve. I'm proud of you both, of all the former detectives."

Zack and Ivy didn't know what to say, as they were still getting over the initial shock.

"So..where have you been all this time?" Ivy broke the silence.

"Well…"Carmen sighed. "I do owe you both an explanation." She paused for a moment, to organize her thoughts. "A few days after I rescued Avalon I was sitting in my den thinking about how and why the indecent occurred. No, I wasn't thinking about Lee Jordan, my thoughts were on a deeper plane."

She ran her fingers through her salt and pepper hair. "You see, I've always wanted to have a family but my current life style was far from family friendly. So to satisfy my motherly affections I geared them towards you detectives. Then after then Avalon incident the affections became too much. You see knowing that I had a father made me feel not so lonely, then that was taken away and the loneliness retuned, even more so."

"Did you ever find out if he was your father?" Zack inquired.

"No. He felt that if we were related then there would be some type of mutual connection."

"Was there?"

"I don't know, we didn't spend much time together to establish...anything. I'm not going to lie, I was heartbroken. And yes, we could've done DNA testing but he didn't believe in that sort of thing, and I had to respect his wishes; even though, I had to fight the urge to take a sample and run." Carmen paused. "So I decided that the best thing for me to do was to start over."

"Start over" Ivy folded her arms. "..how?"

Carmen laughed, "I created a temporary new identity for myself, of course." She winked at Ivy. "I decided not to disband VILE, instead I ran it from afar giving low degree difficulty assignments, which is the reason why you two never inherited it. You never fully read the Will so you didn't see the clause I had written in stating that if it can't be proven that I died or was captured then the contest prize was null and void. Also, if there was ever a biological heir(s) then he/she or they would inherit VILE."

She took out a small remote control from her back pocket and pushed a button. A screen appeared, similar to the Chief's. A video from the train ride in Siberia played. Lee Galese had just finished explaining the contest rules. Then two legal documents appeared on the screen.

"Here are two documents of the Standard Criminal Empires Succession portion of my will. One was from that day" She pointed to the one in the left pane. "and the other is the revised one. I've amended the previous language that erases the contest and inserts inheritance rights to my children."

"Children? How many do you have?" Zack asked.

Carmen smiled, "I have five."

Zack and Ivy looked at each other and mouthed the word five then looked back at Carmen.

"You really must've wanted a family. I can barely handle my two" laughed Zack.

"Believe it or not they're all well-behaved. I couldn't have asked for better children. Two live a normal life and have families, yes I am a grandmother. And the younger two are in college. My youngest is a few years older than you Mike." Carmen winked at him, he blushed. "And I'm sorry for putting you both through that contest. It was ridiculous, but at that time I didn't have any heirs and I wanted to ensure that VILE would be in good hands, even if it was disbanded."

Ivy wanted to ask the next question, but hesitated. She got over her nerves, "May I ask who the father is?"

Carmen's smile disappeared and was replaced with a somber look. "He was a man I was seeing at the time."

"What!" Zack exclaimed.

"Oh come on now Zack. You didn't think I'd forgo having personal relationships did you?"

Zack blushed, "Yes, I was 14 at the time."

Carmen smiled and nodded, "We meet while I was staying in one of my safe houses. I went out for groceries and we bumped into each other, literally. He wasn't watching where he was going and knocked the groceries out of my hand. Being the gentleman that he was he replaced them, and walked me home. We saw each other for awhile before I felt comfortable enough to tell him who I really was and what I was really doing on my out of town business trips."

Carmen smiled at the memory, "He accepted me, and I couldn't have been happier. I got rid of my fake identity. And a few weeks later he proposed, but I told him I wasn't ready."

She looked down at her hands feeling a bit shy about having this conversation, "He said he'd wait, but after what happened with Avalon I knew it was time."

Ivy could tell something was bothering her former nemesis. "You talk about him in the past tense. What happened?"

Carmen looked away and wiped a tear from her eye, "He passed away a year ago."

Ivy's face turned into solace, she almost started to cry seeing her idol in emotional pain. Zack shoved his hands in his pockets. Mike and Lily watched how emotionally connected their parents were.

"He suffered a heart attack. He's always been a mellow person and for him to have a heart attack shocked me and the children. The doctors said it was from cholesterol build up in his arteries. It turned out to be a hereditary condition; therefore, unavoidable. "

"Oh Carmen I'm so sorry." Ivy approached the former thief and hugged her. Zack did the same, along with Mike and Lily.

The detectives pulled back. Everyone was feeling better.

"Ok, so where's the new you?" asked Ivy, wiping a tear from her eye.

Carmen looked to the left. On cue a young woman appeared dressed in her mother's scarlet garb.

"I would like to introduce you to Maricarmen Sandiego, _Carmen_ for short."

"How do you do?" Maricarmen extended her hand to Ivy then Zack.

Both former detectives were stunned, it was like looking into the past. The only difference was her deep green eyes.

"You look exactly like your mother" Zack said in awe.

Mike and Lily stepped forward, their detective instincts took over. The old and new thief stood right in front of them, now was their chance to make ACME history. The fastest time a crook, in this case crooks have ever been caught.

"I look forward to catching both of you" said Mike. Lily nodded; she didn't take her eyes of both criminals.

"He's definitely like you Ivy" said Carmen. "And I bet you're like your father?" she looked at Lily.

"She sure is" said Zack and patted his daughter on her head.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Mike, but I can't be prosecuted for my crimes. I've achieved international personal immunity status, since my crimes never have any underlying harmful agendas and all items were always returned."

There was a pause then Carmen spoke again, "Well shall we get on with what we came here for?" She stepped aside to allow her daughter to take the spotlight.

"Ger her!" shouted Lily.

_Carmen_ ran in the other room and towards a dangling rope. She jumped up, getting a good grip. It zipped into the air. Lily and Mike grabbed the other rope. When they reached the roof _Carmen_ was gone. All that was left was the two stolen paintings. They rejoined their parents.

Zack turned around to talk to Carmen. She was gone.

"Like Mother, like Daughter" he said.

The young detectives returned, with defeat written all over their faces.

"You'll get used to that kiddo" Ivy said to her son, ruffling his hair.

The Chief appeared.

Lily was excited, "We met Carmen and the new _Carmen_."

"How fitting" the Chief said blandly.

A confused Zack looked at his sister, "Why aren't you freaking out like before?"

"She sent me a message explaining everything. I don't know what to feel. I'm mad, glad and sad for not being a part of her life all these years, but I understand. And I guess having her back is better than not having her back at all." He perked up, "It looks like Mike and Lily have a new _Carmen_ to chase. Come on you two I've got a lot of stuff to teach ya."


End file.
